The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-05-11
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIEINES Sun
DAY SERMON
Subject "Behind the Counter. ,"

heart the Lord opened. XVI. 1t. oeeSt
tho,. a man di'igent in his BUSINESS. Ht
shall stand BE- fore kings. ."-Proverbs XIII, -
The first passage introduces to you Lydia,
Christian merchantess. Her business Is &c
deal in purple cloths or silks. She is not
giggling nonentity, but practical woman,
not ashamed to work for her living. All the
other women of Philippi and Thyatira have
been forgotten; but God has made lmmorta
in our text, Lydia, the Christian saleswo
man.
The other text shows you a man with head
and hand, and heart, and foot all busy tolllne
on up until he gains princely success
"Seest thou man diligent in his business: ne
shall stand before kings" Great encourage.
1neut in these two passages for men and
women who will be busy. but no solace for
those who are waiting for good luck to show
them, at the foot of the rainbow, casket OF
buried gold. 1t is folly for anybody In TINS
world to wait for something to turn up. 1t
will turn down. The law Of thrift is as mex
orable as the law of the tides. Fortune, the ma,
gieian, may wave her wand in that direction
until castles and palaces come; but she will, al
ter q while, invert the same wand, and all the
splendors will vanish into thin air. There are
certain STYLES Of behavior which lead to use
fulness, honor and permanent success, ana
there are certain styles of behavior when
lead to dust, diShonor and moral default. l
would like to fire the ambition OF young peo-
pie. I have no sympathy with those VINO
would prepare young folks for life py whlt-
Ting down their expectations. That man or
woman will be worth nothing to Church or
State who begins life cowed down. The bust
ness of Christianity is not to quench but to
direct human ambition. Therefore 1t Is that
come out this morning and utter words OF
encouragement to those who are occupied as
clerks in the stores and shops and banking
houses Of the country. You say: Mhy
select one class, and talk to one specially this
morningr' For the same reason that
q surgeon does not open the door of hospital
and throw in bushel ofprescriptions, saying:
"Come, now, and get your medicine" he
first feels the pulse. watches the symptoms,
and then prescribes FOR that particular case.
So to-day must be specific. The people in
this audience who are clerks are not an
exceptional class. They belong to great
company Of tens OF thousands who are, IN TINS
country, amid circumstances which Will
either make or break them for time and for
eternity. should be very slow to acknow.
ledge that the clerks, male and female, of
other cities, are any more honest or faithful
than the clerks of our own city. Many OF
these people have already achieved Chris
tan manhness and Christian womanlneSS
which will be their passport to any POSITION;
I have seen their trials. l have watched
which need to be hunted down, and dragged
out into the monday light
/. In the first place, l counsel clerks to re-
member that for the most part their CLERK
ship is only school from which they are to
be graduated. It takes about eight years to
get one of the learned professions. 1t takes
about eight years to get to be merchant.
Some of you will be clerks all your lives,
but the vast majority of you are only in
Arm
December day. the head men of the firm will
call you into the back Office, and they will say
to YOU. Snow you have done well by us;
we are going to do well by you. We invite
YOU to have an interest i'll cur concern" You
will bow to that edict very gracefully, Get
ting into a street car going home;
an old comrade will meet you and
night ~ "O,n you will say, nothing, moth
ing" But in few days your name will
blossom on the sign. Either in the store, or
bank where you are now, or in some other
store or bank, you will take higher position
than that which you now occupy. SO feel
to-day that I am standing before people who
will yet have their hand on the helm of the
worlds commerce, and you will turn it this
way or that; now clerks, but to be bankers, i'm
porters insurance company directors, ship
pers, contractors superintendent OF railroads
your voice mighty ION 'Change" standing
foremost in the great financial and re-
hgious enterprises Of the day. For
though we who are in the professions may,
on the platform, plead for the philanthropies;
after all, the merchants must come forth
with their millions to sustain the movement.
Be, therefore, patient and diigent. in this
transient position. You are now where you
can learn things you can never learn IN any
other place. What you consider your disad-
vantages are your grand opportunity. You
see an affluent father some day come down on
prominent street with his son, who has Just
graduated from the University and
established him in business, putting
one hundred thousand dollars of capital
In the store Well, you are envious You
say: 'sOh, if only had a chance like that
young man-if only had father to put one
hundred thousand dollars in business for me,
then I would have some chance in the world. "
Be not envious. You have advantages over
that young man which he has not over you
AS we'll might I come down to the docks
when vessel is about to sail for Valparaiso,
and say: "Iet me pilot this ship out of the
Narrows" Why, would sink crew and cargo
before got out of the harbor, simply because
know nothing about pilotage. Wealthy sea
captains put their sons before the mast
for the reason that they know that it is the
only place where they can learn to be success
full sailors 1t is only under drill that people
get to understood pilotage and navigation,
and want you to understand that 1t takes
no more skill to conduct q vessel out OF the
harbor and across the sea, than to steer
commercial establishment clear Of the rocks.
You see every day the folly of people going
into business they know nothing
about A man makes q fortune in one
business; thinks there is another occupation
more comfortable: goes into it and sinks all.
Many of the commercial establishments OF
our cities are giving to their clerks mercan-
tile education as thorough as Yale, or Har-
ward, or Princeton, are giving scientific at
tainment to the students matriculated. The
reason so many men are foundering, II
business from year to year, is because thelI
Ask these men high in commercial circles
and they will tell you they thank God fol
this severe discipline of their early clerk
ship. You can afford to endure the wilderness
march if it is going to end in the vineyards ant
orchards Of the promised land. But you say
"Will the womanly clerks in our stores have
promotion!" Yes. Time is coming wher
women will be as we'll paid for their toll ir
mercantile circles as men are now paid fol
their toll. Time is coming when woman
will be allowed to do anything she can d.
we'll It is only little while ago when womel
knew nothing of telegraphy, and they wer'
kept out of great many commercial circle
where they are now welcome; and the tim
will 20 On until the woman who at one coun
ter in a store sells ten thousand dollars wortl
of goods in year, will get as high salar.
as the man who at the other counte
Of the same store sells ten thousand dol
lars worth of goods. All honor t.
Lydia, the Christian saleswoman. And Il
passing, MAY as we'll say that you merchant
Nho have female clerks in your stores oughl
to treat them with great courtesy and KIND
let them sit down. In England and tn
United States physicians have proteStea
against the habit of compelling the womanl
clerks in the stores to stand when it was no
--..-.. c. 4la.,, 70 ntnna Tharnfora adj